Boko Haram: The Story Of A Trip To Gwoza, By George Onmonya Daniel

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would want the world to believe Boko Haram is almost over. In fact the chief of defense staff has reiterated that Boko Haram crisis is almost over despite recent attacks on military positions by Boko Haram that claimed the lives of many of our soldiers.

The Truth is that the terrorist group have waxed stronger in recent weeks since the release of the 21 Chibok girls that is making people asking if the terror group had not gone shopping for arms with the ransom money even though the federal government is denying that money did not exchange hands.

This afternoon I received a call from Maiduguri. One of our sources in Maiduguri wants me to listen to first hand information from a young man who drove a vehicle to Gwoza for some NGO. The NGO people would be using the vehicle for their mission in Gwoza but it is too dangerous to drive down there, so they hired this young man to take the vehicle there for them as they would flying to Gwoza with Helicopter.

His journey from Madagali to Gwoza which usually shouldn’t be more than three hours on a normal day took him three days amidst exchange of gunfire by Boko Haram members and the Nigerian army until they finally entered Gwoza. He told me that he would not be going to Gwoza in the near future no matter how much anybody or organization would pay him.

“The army are even afraid of the boys,” he confided.

“The army are human beings my brother. And Boko Haram want to die but these soldiers have family and want to come back home safely.” I told him.

He told me that it is much more serious then we are being told. Boko Haram are simply waxing stronger and are a real threat to the Nigerian army and Nigerians.

But I know all these. I have spoken to armies at the warfront who tell me different stories from what we are being fed with in Abuja. The soldier boys at the warfront have earlier complained about their allowances, some were being owed three months, some six months. Some have been in Maiduguri for two to three years fighting and have not been able to see their families and others haven’t been redeployed to assist so that they can go on break. Their moral is low.

The fact is that if the Nigerian security operatives and the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari did not take the bull by the horn, we would be relapsing into the deadly era on terrorism as we experienced before and terror would be at our doorsteps soon as it used to be.

I am sure this administration is doing all they can to ensure that did not happen to rubbish the one thing they love to claim even though it is not yet fully achieved, the achievement that Boko Haram is almost over. The truth is that it is not over and neither almost over.